HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình has ordered the administration of the northern mountainous province of Cao Bằng to quickly determine the cause of the tragic accident that killed four people and injured 16 others early Sunday morning.

The accident occurred at 5:30am on Sunday when a sleeper bus travelling from Hà Nội to Cao Bằng Province, carrying 20 passengers, suddenly plunged into a 30-metre abyss at the foot of Cao Bắc Pass. After the accident, the injured were taken to Cao Bằng General Hospital for treatment.

Bình, also chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, said the administration had to strictly deal with any individual or organisation that was found to have contributed to the accident. The local administration was told to remedy the accident’s consequences soon.

Vice chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety Khuất Việt Hùng, on Sunday afternoon, required the local administration to start legal proceedings against the bus driver and the transport company that runs the bus.

Hùng asked the provincial Transport Department to inspect the operation history of the sleeper bus.

Additionally, the department had to install road signs stating “this stretch of road under repair after the accident” to warn drivers in the area.

He also demanded the Ministry of Transport re-check all sloping roads or roads running through passes nation-wide and then fix any problems to ensure safety for road users.

Both Bình and Hùng already sent their condolences to families of the accident’s victims. Hùng also visited the province to direct the local administration to handle the accident.

Initial investigations by the local police failed to recover the sleeper bus’s black box.

The police were taking the testimony of the bus driver, Trần Văn Thắng, to help identify the accident’s cause.  

According to a report of the Việt Nam Register Agency, the bus was manufactured in 2009, with a certificate of roadworthiness valid until January 11, 2019. — VNS